NBA News: Bye, Bye Shaq
"I tweeted on my Twitter account today" -
It was announced yesterday via his Twitter account, that Shaquille O' Neal currently of the Boston Celtics is going to retire........What Shaqfu, the Diesel, the Big Aristotle is going to hang it up after 19-years . I'm surprised he didn't do it sooner.....Look he did indicate a couple seasons ago that he was going to keep playing as long as he can even if that meant coming off the bench. The inevitable happened, he got old and he got hurt.......For a better part of the season Shaq has been struggling with a damaged Achilles tendon only competing in 39 games. He tried to give it a go in the playoffs but only mustered a total of 12-minutes in two playoff games against the Miami Heat. Shaq indicated that he didn't want to hold up the Celtics any longer and give them opportunity to invest in younger players........Really......Did he do it because of that or was he trying to save face from the eventual release the Celtics might of handed him? Look he had a year left on his contract and the idea was for him to fortify the Celtics front-line especially with the unexpected trade of Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier in the year. Look with the money they wasted on Shaq and Jermaine O' Neal they could of saved it and give it to Perkins. As dominant as big men can get in the NBA Shaq was not even worth six fouls anymore.
I know that is a bit harsh but his "Superman" act has grown tired and he was done. Even if he had the surgery to repair his Achilles tendon, what about all that weight he is carrying. There was a report a week or so ago that he is suffering from sleep apnea which is a very dangerous condition. Hopefully his next move is to shed off the weight and get involved in other things. Which I don't think would be very hard for him to do, ever since he burst on the NBA scene back in 1992 with the Orlando Magic, all he did was do other things besides basketball. Between the rapping, the movies, and the periodic acts of showmanship, Shaq found ways to entertain the masses. One of my favorites was his little rap he did in a night club that was dedicated to his former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, entitled "Kobe how my a$$ taste". This was the little nasty shot that he took at Kobe after winning a fourth NBA title with Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat back in 06'. Prior to that Shaq and Kobe had a volatile partnership that produced three titles for the Lakers. Things began to go south for him with his brief stints with the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In some form or fashion the Shaq Attack will be back.....nuff said
